Ugh. I had the misfortune of renting this DVD and couldn't even get through more than the first 20 minutes of it before deciding it was an utter piece of crap, turning it off, and immediately ejecting it from my player. And I am usually the type of person who always finishes watching a movie. But with this one, I just couldn't bear to give it one more second of my time. I first became suspect that this film was going to be tedious when these words that described the main character--Emily Jackson, portrayed by Brittany Murphy (preciously nicknamed "Jacks")--came on the screen in the very beginning: "Jacks works at U.K. Vogue, and though technically British, speaks in a cross between an English and American accent that suggests a childhood spent in America." What was this, I wondered--some sort of disclaimer?!?!? I bet Keanu Reeves wished he'd had this sort of statement to excuse his awful performance as an Englishman in 1992's 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' or better yet... when Kevin Costner sadly attempted his infamous now-you-hear-it-now-you-don't British accent in 1991's 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.' I couldn't help but be wary and with good reason: her hybrid accent sucked anyway. Anyway, like I said--I couldn't even get through the first 20 minutes. It was absolutely excruciating to watch Ms. Murphy's blatant ripoff of Audrey Hepburn-as-Holly Golightly in the modern world. It's been sooooo DONE before, Sweetie. And done way better, for that matter (see Parker Posey in 1995's 'Party Girl' for a way superior and much more likable performance). And the plot? Merely seeming like just another version of Jane Austen's 'Emma.' Done, done, done. Tired, tired, tired. Plus, she is just trying waaaaaay too hard. Already, the dialogue lacked any true wit or originality and I didn't care one bit about the one-dimensional and dull characters. Plus, if I had to watch Brittany screw up her dumb-looking face into one more unattractive facial expression in her pathetic attempt to adorably(?!?!) EMOTE, I was going to roll my eyes up into the back of my head so far that I was afraid they wouldn't come back down to their normal position. Please do yourself a huge favor: avoid this waste of time at all costs. No "Love" here, folks... merely one big "DISASTER."
Review of Love and Other Disasters
